Spot welding fixture



NOV. 12, E GRAY SPOT WELDING FIXTURE Filed Oct. l5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIIIIIIII' Nov. l2, 1935. E. J. GRAY SPOT WELDING FIXTURE Filed oct. 15, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 `INVENTOR Y uNrrlal) STATES v l Novi 1935 PATENT] orales ammo sro'r wnnnmo nx'runa mme; J. om, cineimmfom, mno :rhs

American Claim My invention relates to work/holding apparatus and, particularly, to the type of work holding apparatus disclosed in a copending yapplication to Frank Vetorino. Serial No. 599,155, tiled March 16, 1932. for Spot welding apparatus, wherein a work holding apparatus is provided that embodies means for supporting a partially or wholly fabricated cylinder framework oi' a washing machine or the like. such as the head sheets and work lifting ribs, in a predetermined position which renders the application and secur-l inar of the cylinder body sheets and other partsto the lifting ribs substantially easy, together with means for adjusting the cylinder framework to positions to bring the desired point thereon within the working range of a spot welding apparatus or the like.

It is the object of my invention to provide, in commotion with such work holding apparatus, a supplemental or'secondary work holding apparatus for supporting a partially fabricated cylinder and which will be of a nature to permit welds to be made at points that were inaccessible to the welding electrodes when the cylinder was in the primary work holding means. For example, this secondary work holding apparatus will permit weids to be made between the head sheets and the cylinder body sheets.

Another object of my invention is to provide a means, in this instance, adapters, that may be assembled with the head sheets of the cylinder and, while permitting welds to be made between f the head sheets and the cylinder body sheets, will be effective to prevent crushing of the head sheets and the cylinder structure.

Various other objects and advantageous features of my invention will be seen .in the following description and one embodiment thereof may be seen in the accompanying drawings wherein similar characters of reference designate corresponding parte, and wherein: l

Fie'. i is s side elevation of a work holding ap params constructed in accordance with my invcntien. feat ts, including both. a primaryland a. secondary werk holding apparatus; Fig. 2 is ay seetionai view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. i; Figli is e, sectional view taken on the line 3-3 'of 1913.2; Fig. i .ls a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 ci' Eig. l; Fig. 5 is an end elevation showing the means for rotating the cylinder supporting parte of the work holding apparatus; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line l-l of Fis. 2.

The apparatus will be hereinafter described as embodying a primary work holding means, or

(ci. zs-H-ss) -welding that were not accessible. with the cylin- 5 der in theprimary work holding means.

Referring to the drawings, the work holding apparatus as a whole consists of a preferably rectangular chassis or base .I that, in this instance. is provided at each corner with gusset lo plates 2` arranged to rigidify the chassis construction and to receive stud portions of a series of traction elements or casters 3. A stationary pillow block 4 is rigidly mounted on one end of the chassis as shown in Fig. 1 and a movable w pillow block 5 is supported on the chassis intermediate its ends. The movable pillow block l is mounted to slide toward and away from the pillow block l along the length of the chassis i by being supported on shafts l carried by the chassis zo, i and extending longitudinally thereof, one end of each shaft S being supported in a bracket 1, and the means lor moving the pillow block l towardl and away from the pillow block i consists of a lead screw l supported in bearings l on the u chassis i and extending through a threaded opening in the lowerrncst part l ci' the pillow block l.

A hand wheel l i is provided on one end of the leadscrew 8 whereby the lead screw may be manually rotated to result in movement. of the 30 pillow block li longitudinally of the chassis l, the direction of travel depending upon the direction of rotation of the hand wheel li.

Each oi the pillow blocks and I supports a face plate il, one taco plate l2 being rotatably 35 mounted relative to the pillow block e on a stud i3 ,iournalled in the pillow block and the other face plate it being rotatably' mounted relative to the pillow block S by being mounted on a shaft Il journalled .in the pillow bloeit i. These face 49 plates ii are considerably greater in circumference than the greatest circumference of a cylin' der to he fabricated whereby the head sheets will abut against each er cylinder body sheets and Vhold them ser aignment relative 5 to the fabricated cyli framework. Cylinder head sheet clamping i5 are provided on each face plate, :these clamping luge'being movable radially inwardly' and outwardly along the adjacent surfaces ci the face plates i2 by means ci 5@ lead screws it to clamp diderent sind cylinder head sheets to: tace plates.

To present all portions ci a cylinder framework carried by the work holding apparatus between the face plates it at the desired point, the n face plates may be rotated in synchronism by -means of ring gears I1 that extend around they entire periphery of the face plates and mesh with disengagement of the pinion I 8 from the ring gear I1 on the face plate I2 carried by that pillow block 5.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, to rotate the face .plates I2, a drive pinion 20' engages the pinion i 8 and the drive pinion forms a part of a sprocket 2i which is arranged to rotate on a shaft 22 and to be driven by an endless sprocket chain 23 which passes around the sprocket 2i and around a sprocket 2t on a shaft 25 journalled in the stationary pillow'block d. A hand wheel 26 provides a means for rotating the sprocket 24 and thus rotating the sprocket 2l, pinion 20', pinion I8, and the shaft 20.

In the use of this apparatus so far described, the usual head sheets and lifting ribs of a cylinder structure are first properly arranged and spot welded together to form a wholly or partially fabricated framework of a cylinder. This framework is then assembled between the face plates I2 which are adjusted to the proper position and supported by the lugs I5 being moved into engagement with the head sheets which are U- shaped or flanged and assembled with the flanges extending outwardly. After the cylinder framework has been suitably disposed between the face plates I2, the parts of the cylinder structure which may include the cylinder body sheets, door guides, etc., are applied to the cylinder framework, with the face plates and framework being rotated to present the desired point on the framework at a convenient location, and substantially all weids are made except those between the cylinder body sheets and the cylinder head sheets.

As vhereinbefore stated, the faceplates I2 are greater in diameter than the greatest diameter of a cylinder to be fabricated therein for the purpose of holding the cylinder body sheets in proper alignment relative to the partially or wholly fabricated cylinder framework while they are being attached thereto by spot welding and, as will be apparent, this makes it impossible to spot weld the cylinder body sheets 26 to the head sheets 21, see Fig. 3, since the point at which they are welded together is inaccessible to the welding electrodes. Therefore, in accordance with my invention, a secondary holding means is provided which includes a disk 28 carried by the shaft I4 that extends through the movable pillow block 5 and carries one of the face plates I2. Pins 29 extend outwardly from the disk 28 to receive an adapter 30 that fits within the cylinder head sheets 21 as shown in Figs. i and 3, the adapter 3U being substantially U-shaped and A being provided with notches or openings 3i extending through its peripheral flange.

A stationary pillow block 32 is carried by the frame I on the end remote from the pillow block 4 and supports a disk 33 similar to the disk 28 and likewise having outwardly extending pins 29 to receive an adapter 30, the face plate 33 being mounted on a stud 34 journalled in the stationary pillow block 32. The'face plate 28 and adapter 30 may be moved longitudinally of the frame I towards and away from the disk 33 and adapter 30 carried thereby by moving the pillow block 5 longitudinally of the frame I through the mechanism hereinbefore described and the adapters 30 may be rotated to present any desired pdnt of the cylinder carried by the secondary work holding means to the welding electrodes by x'o-V g tating the face plate I2 carried by the shaft 'M 5 work holding means, the adapters 38 are nssembled with the head sheets 21 as shown in Figs.

l and3, and the partially fabricated cylinder is disposed in the secondary work holding means x5 by properly adjusting the pillow block 8 yrelative to the pillow block 32 so that the pins 28 on the disks 28 and 33 will enter the openings therefor in the adapters. Then, the cylinder body sheets 26 are spot welded to the head sheets 21 by bring- 20 ing the points of the welding electrodes 35 'and 36 into registry with one of the plurality of notches` 3| about the periphery of the adapters 30, the cylinder and adapters being rotated as desired to present the desired notch to the welda5 ing electrodes. After completion of the operation of welding the cylinder body sheets 28 to the head sheets 21 and any other welding operations which could not be accomplished in the primary work holding means, the cylinder is re- 30 moved from the secondary work holding means and the usual cylinder end heads supplemented for the adapters 33 and properly attached to the cylinder.

With the above construction, I have provided 35 a work holding apparatus for use in fabricating a washing machine cylinder which includes a primary work holding means wherein a. cylinder is partially fabricated and a secondary work holding means which permits all welding opera- 40 tions which it is not possible to perform in the primary work holding means to be readily accomplished. The combination of such primary and secondary work holding means in one ap'- paratus provides for a minimum number of'op- 45 erating parts and controls while, at the same time, providing a work holding apparatus wherein a washing machine cylinder may be completely fabricated without danger of the parts thereof being moved out of alignment with each other 50 prior to their attachment to other parts.

What I claim is:

1. Work holding apparatus for fabricating a cylinder having body sheets and circular head sheets with outwardly extending peripheral 55 flanges longitudinally coextensive with said body sheets, comprising in combination a chassis, stationary pillow blocks spaced apart thereon, one of said blocks having a face plate rotatably mounted thereon and greater in diameter than 0U the diameter of the cylinder to be fabricated, the other of said blocks rotatably supporting an adapter having a diameter adapted to lie within the ange of a head sheet, an intermediate pillow block having rotatably mounted on opposite sides 88 thereof a face plate and adapter like the first named plate and adapter and facing the similar members, and means for moving said intermediate pillow block along said chassis, whereby to clampingly secure firstly vsaid body sheets and 10 the flanged portion `of said head sheets in abutting relation between said face plates and seeondly to secure the central portions oi' the head sheets between said pters.

2. 'I'he combination of claim'l in which' slid u adapter is U-shape in section with a peripheral flange extending away from the cylinder body, there being openings through said flange for the insertion of a fabricating tool.

3. Work holding apparatus for fabricating a cylinder having body sheets and a circular head sheet with an outwardly extending peripheral Bange, comprising an adapter U-shape in section with a peripheral flange of a diameter adapted to lie within the flange of the head sheet, there being openings through said adapter flange; and means for holding said adapter against a head sheet with the flanges extending in the same direction.

4. Work holding apparatus of the character described, comprising. an elongated chassis, a stationary pillow block at each end thereof, one oi' said pillowblocks having a face plate thereon greater` in diameter than the diameter of a cylinder to be fabricated and the other of said pillow blocksihaving a lface plate thereon less in diameter than the diameter of said cylinder, an intermediate pillow block adjustable to various positions longitudinally of said chassis and having face plates on opposite sides thereof corresponding to said face plates of greater and lesser diameters respectively and like face plates facing each other, to thereby provide selectively usable main and supplemental cylinder holding means on said chassis, and means for rotating said face plates.

ELMER J. GRAY. 

